Pumpkin Run Pulse

One level cup of watery soup, with a miniscule amount of radish floating in it, made for a meal, twice a day. For lunch, there was a small ball of rice. This was the sort of food they survived on, for four years, on the days their Japanese overseers actually fed them.

They weren't in Japanese forces hands because they'd been captured. They were being held prisoners of war because they had obeyed orders to surrender, via the chain of command, of the United States Marine Corps, during WWII.

Master Gunnery Sergeant Terence Sumner Kirk, United States Marine (Retired), was one of a group of Marines stationed in North China on December 7, 1941, the day the Imperial Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor.

"If dying without a whimper is the mark of a man, there wasn't a boy among them."Master Gunnery Sergeant Terrence Sumner Kirk, United States Marine (Retired).

They relinquished their post to the Imperial Japanese Army, and things went downhill from there.

Sometimes they went days without food. On the days they were fed, it was barely enough to sustain them, and for many it wasn't. Death due to starvation claimed the lives of many, who were in peak physical conditions at the time they were captured.

Their barracks in the prison camps provided little more than a roof over their heads. There was no heat, other than body-heat, during the sub-zero winters in both China and Japan.Their clothing was thick with lice, and while they slept, they were constantly under attack from rats and bed bugs.

Disease was rampant, and the only medicine they usually had access to was charcoal.

In his book, MstrGuySgt. Kirk gives us a detailed account of how life played out for U.S. Military prisoners of war, at the hands of the Japanese. There are great hardships described, and insurmountable odds for survival, but the under-current throughout the entire story is the consistency in hope for freedom. They held onto that hope every day, until the day of their death, or until the day they walked out of their prison compounds, when the war ended. Hope was the constant factor that kept many of them alive, because they fashioned their existence around it.

A photo of his fellow military prisoners, taken with a secret camera Mr. Kirk fashioned out of cardboard and photo plates. The gentleman on the far right suffered from beriberi, brought on by starvation.

Mr. Kirk and a few of his comrades, put themselves at great risk to get some photos, to ensure there would be documentation of the horrors of the Japanese prison camps.

If he had been caught with it, or if his comrades had been caught covering for him while he took the shots, they would have been executed. But, the photos were taken because these men felt the risk was necessary to ensure proof of the atrocities committed against them.

The book is an emotionally difficult read, and yet, I believe every American who appreciates freedom, should buy it, read it, and encourage others to do the same.

There are many histories that should never be forgotten by a free people, to remind us of the cost of freedom. This is one of them.

Lt. Col. Oliver North, United States Marine (retired) met with Mr. Kirk, and assured him that the photos had done exactly what he hoped for. Mr. Kirk's belief was that there was far too little information being provided and propelled to the American people regarding this war, in which over 400,000 Americans lost their lives. In writing The Secret Camera,Mr. Kirk blatantly questions the reasons behind the lack of coverage and information. He also brings up a philosophy in the book to "question orders", and points that that questioning orders was something he was taught not to do in the Marine Corps, but felt that American military veterans should have sense enough to do it regardless.

Questioning orders, deciding to be people rather than sheep, is what birthed the United States Constitution. Apparently, MstrGuySgt. Kirk had developed a good handle on that after following orders that got him imprisoned for nearly four years.

In regards to weapons, as well as the rights and responsibilities of every individual to be inclined to protect themselves, Mr, Kirk summed it up beautifully when he wrote about his internal reaction and thoughts after being pushed around by a Japanese soldier, whose language he did not understand.

"I wanted to rebel, but he had the gun. This is what happens when you give up your guns, the people who have them become downright oppressive. You will do as they say, or they will kill you - it's as simple as that."

Rest in peace, Mr. Kirk, and may the story of you and your brave comrades never be forgotten.

Thank you for reading. Please pass the word on Mr. Kirk's book to anyone patriots you come across. :) Love you and miss you too! One of these days, we're gonna have time for a long sit down over some hot coffee!

femmeflashpoint

Reply

Sherri McCoy

12/8/2012 02:42:06 pm

Beautifully written even though the contents were hard to take. Knowing how our countrymen were treated ought to make every American proud to live in a country where there's freedom and mankind is given their rights because of others who gave their lives for that very freedom...it should never be taken for granted.

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femmeflashpoint

12/8/2012 02:46:43 pm

Hi Sherri,

I agree! Thank you for stopping by and reading! I do hope folks will read Mr. Kirk's book. I'm blessed to have an autographed copy of my own, and I sincerely consider it a treasure that I will not willingly part with.

It's so easy to take freedom for granted, but it's up to each of us personally to ensure we fight to maintain it, otherwise, what so many have done for us in the past, is for nothing. And, as Mr. Kirk, pointed that, it's our responsibility to protect ourselves from enemies abroad as well as enemies right here, who have the same agenda.

I love freedom, so I'm being responsible, taking action, and passing it on.

What a wonderful book review. The survivors - most all of them really- went through something few will ever be called on to do. You bet those pics are rare but it was another reason to live- for the world to have a record. Over 30% of Americans in Japanese POW camps didn't made it home as compared to say Germany - where conditions could be similar, especially near the end- where the loss rate was 3 or 4% if not mistaken. Bless you Sergeant Kirk- and all our POWS. And thank you femme for making me aware of this very fine book.

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femmeflashpoint

12/14/2012 11:01:36 am

Alastar,

So glad you saw this. :)

Per Mr. Kirk, 38% of Japanese prisoners of war died in prison. That came to the number of 13,788 people.

The book was published by Owl Wise Publishing and edited by his wife, Millie. Mrs. Kirk, to my knowledge, is still living in the Crowley,
Texas area.

Mr. Kirk had a fresh way of telling a story he must have told parts of, over and over. I loved the way he communicated it in writing. I have no doubt, his style is an absolute reflection of himself.

This may seem wrong of me, but I couldn't help but smile when he wrote about communications coming through and being sent in "Morris Code". For me, that's an excellent example of the charm I found throughout the story, and I'm very happy it didn't get edited out.

Often it isn't the perfection that makes for winning content. In this case, truth about extraordinary circumstances and how they were survived is what makes this one a winner.

For Mr. Kirk to have been able to incorporate charm and wit into such a tragic account shows great character on his part, as both a survivor and a writer.

I hope you get the book, a real one, not an electronic one.

God willing, mine will stay in my library for the rest of my days!

femme

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